Please disable your Ad Blocker to better interact with this website.

Opinion

Reciprocity: If It ‘Works’ For Drivers’ Licences, Why Not The Second Amendment?

In the United States Constitution, the First Amendment GUARANTEES the right to free speech. Of course, as everyone knows, you don’t yell FIRE in a crowded theatre, so we don’t talk about such nonsense as that. However, there is another, equally nonsensical movement in this country that has me deeply disturbed. In many schools, colleges mostly, but some high schools also, there is only “permitted speech”. Several schools are blatant in their requirements. You must have a permit to speak, and then only in a certain area, and then only for a limited time. Other places require that you submit your entire speech to them for “consideration” or “auditing”. George Orwell, that visionary who gave us 1984 said this about free speech: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

Back around July of this year, we were in the middle of summer, and even if you wouldn’t think of Michigan and heat in the same breath…it does get hot there. In this particular breach of lucidity, and another instance of America losing its way, a shopper in the Woodland Mall in Grand Isle was accosted by a security officer and told she had to leave the mall. When she asked why the officer told her that “someone” had complained that she was dressed inappropriately for the public area. Here is what the woman, Hannah Peewee wrote:

I decided to dress for the weather: shorts and a tank top. But apparently, how I was dressed was too slutty for the public, as I was kicked out of the Woodland Mall today. Apparently some anonymous person reported me to MALL SECURITY for inappropriate dress and I was kicked out. Never mind that within a one foot radius there were plenty of girls dressed just like me, since it’s NINETY degrees outside.

The Mall later apologized for the incident. Since when, though, does one phone call, and that was anonymous, cause an incident like that?

Also recently, another person who should know better, made a statement that clearly indicated that she was at least one card shy of a full deck. On the side of free speech, anyone can say anything about anyone…but they’d better be prepared to back it up, and face whatever consequences are coming because of what they said. Denise Young Smith, whose job is “head of diversity” at Apple apparently lost sight of what she was supposed to be advocating. Her remark about diversity was exactly opposite of what her job was. She was ticked that diversity to most people, meant racial or sexual identity so she said this, “There can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blonde men in a room and they’re going to be diverse too because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation,” On the surface, it seems that she thinks all white men would be blue-eyed and blonde, but they could have diverse perspectives. It didn’t hit the folks at Apple quite right and she had to issue an explanation.

Now, it’s one thing for a person to lose their way, and utter something outlandish, it’s quite another when a town does it, and it reinforces the notion that America, or some of its people, have lost their way. Several cities, some are called townships, in New Jersey, have said in a round-about way that the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution just don’t apply to them. How is that possible you may ask? I wish there was a logical answer but there isn’t. Local civic leaders are up in arms that Congress is considering passing a law that would allow gun permit holders from other states to carry anywhere they travel in our nation. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 would essentially allow anyone who holds a legal, and official permit to carry in one state, to carry in every state. Yes, even in fascist, anti-liberty states like New Jersey.

Reciprocity works. You have a driver’s license from Oklahoma, you can drive in any state in the United States, if you have a license from Wyoming, it’s reciprocal, and so on. Well, local leaders can’t stomach the possibility that they might actually have to abide by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or our laws.

“If anyone is going to have a concealed weapon, it should be based on an application that should be made to the appropriate authority in New Jersey,” Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said. “I’ll be damned if a state with liberality hands out concealed gun permits and I’ve got them in my town every day.” Mr. Mayor, unless I’m wrong, the 2nd Amendment says “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”, and to me that means you don’t put obstacles in the way. You live in a country that has laws, and you are supposed to obey those laws…and one of them, at least it’s in the offing, is the reciprocity for concealed carry.

Parting shot: The argument that this or that type of weapon is not necessary, is not the issue here. This is not about gun control at all…this is about CONTROL and this mayor is loathe to give up any control without a fight. Let’s light a lamp and see the way.

Image: Excerpted from: CC0 Creative Commons; https://pixabay.com/en/gun-usa-second-amendment-1218708/

Larry Usoff

Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired. Articulate. Opinionated. Patriotic. Conservative. Cultured enough so that I can be taken almost anywhere. Makes no excuses for what I say or do, but takes responsibility for them. Duty. Honor. Country. E-mail me at: amafrog@att.net

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *